diet

Be wise, which foods should you buy organic? The Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15

Wise way to buy organic foods does not need to be so expensive!

Many of us are trying to take steps to care for our health, but the price of organic vegetables and fruits can be so high that many people can’t afford to go completely organic all the time.

Wise way to buy organic foods. enter the Environmental Working Group’s latest update to the annual Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. This simple list breaks down the “Dirty Dozen” — the 12 fruits and vegetables found to contain the most pesticide residue. If you are trying to avoid pesticides, it may be worth it to shell out the extra cash to buy these items organic.

If, on the other hand, a product made the “Clean Fifteen” list, it has been found to contain the least amount of chemical residue, and buying these items organic may not be as critical.

Here are some key findings of the 2015 review (the full list is below):

Save your cash on avocados and pineapples. EWG lists avocados as the cleanest: Only 1 percent showed any detectable pesticides. And 89 percent of pineapples had zero residues.

Spring for organic leafy greens. For the past few years in a row spinach has made the Dirty Dozen list, and it’s back on it this year. While kale and collard greens did not meet the criteria, they were added to what EWG calls the “Dirty Dozen Plus” list because they were found to contain trace levels of insecticides that can be toxic to the human nervous system. So, if your diet includes lots of leafy greens, you may want to look for the USDA organic seal.

Consumer demand for organically produced food is increasing dramatically. USDA economists reported that organic produce sales spiked from $5.4 billion in 2005 to an estimated $15 billion last year. Still, EWG found that consumers are often ingesting pesticides with their conventionally-grown produce.

Nearly two-thirds of the 3,015 produce samples tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2013 contained pesticide residues, the EWG reports.

Cherry picking which to buy organically can save!

The Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce ranks pesticide contamination on 48 popular fruits and vegetables based on an analysis of more than 34,000 samples taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. The produce is washed and peeled to mimic what a consumer would do before it’s tested.

Once EWG compiles the data, analysts classify fruits and veggies into two lists that reflect the overall pesticide loads of the most common fruits and vegetables.

So here are the EWG’s 2015 “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean Fifteen”:

Dirty-

The following “Dirty Dozen Plus” had the highest pesticide load, making them the most important to buy organic versions – or to grow them organically yourself:

Apples

Strawberries

Grapes

Celery

Peaches

Spinach

Sweet bell peppers

Nectarines (imported)

Cucumbers

Cherry tomatoes

Snap peas (imported)

Potatoes

Clean-

Avocados

Sweet corn

Pineapples

Cabbage

Sweet peas (frozen)

Onions

Asparagus

Mangoes

Papayas

Kiwi

Eggplant

Grapefruit

Cantaloupe (domestic)

Cauliflower

Sweet potatoes

Why organic, watch these two videos:

About Dr. Bennett – Holds both a masters and doctorate in acupuncture and Chinese medicine, plus two diplomats. She has completed additional training in functional medicine, herbal medicine, and applied clinical nutrition. She has been practicing in Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach for over 13 years. She can be reached at 714-962-5031 and new patients are welcome.

Organic meats they are here in our backyard.

Best Sources- Organic Meats in OC is easier to find than you think. But people and patients ask me all the time why I am not a vegetarian. Simply, our body has adapted to eating meat genetically and it is not a substitute for vegetables and fruits but is overall critical for our health. That being said, getting high quality meats is quite a challenge, let alone organic.

You can purchase nearly anything online in the year 2015. Underwear, and cars, virtual assistants, penguin costumes for Halloween— even diapers. From traditional mail-order companies like Omaha steaks farm-direct sellers like Crystal River meats, the digital beef bazaar is an option-rich environment. Beef is no exception, but harder to find is REAL ORGANIC MEATS.

Healthy food (organic, no GMO, etc), equals healthy life. Organics meats are part of the formula- Dr. Benentt

Since there’s nothing like coming home to filet mignon or wild caught salmon after a long day at the office, we’ve graciously rounded up my choices of the best places to get steak and seafood. You can taste the difference and feel the difference.

Soco local Saturday farmers market in Costa Mesa. Da-le-ranch.com of Lake Elsinore. Mention Dr. Bennett and they may have an extra surprise for you. I usually order my meat online or via text message so it’s packed up and waiting for me.

Click here for meats2U. They are known for their ahi, but the wild caught salmon is insane. It is a local Huntington Beach company and supporting local business is awesome. I asked him to do something special for my patients, so just mention me.

A great source of lean easy to digest protein is buffalo meat. Lots of flavor, low fat and high in protein, buffalo meat is an ideal substitute. Buffalo meat is lower in calories and cholesterol than beef, pork, turkey, skinless chicken and even many fish! Bison tastes similar to high quality beef, it stands out for being slightly sweeter and more nutritionally dense than other types of red meat. Wildideabuffalo.com, try their chorizo seasoning buffalo- it’s crazy good.

About Dr. Bennett – Holds both a masters and doctorate in acupuncture and Chinese medicine, plus two diplomats. She has completed additional training in functional medicine, herbal medicine, and applied clinical nutrition. She has been practicing in Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach for over 13 years. She can be reached at 714-962-5031 and new patients are welcome.